Major Finding: Exercisers showed beneficial changes in MMP-9 levels and MMP9/TIMP ratios, compared with controls. Neither group improved in MMP-2 and TIMP-1 levels.
Data Source: Fifty overweight, sedentary type 2 diabetes patients randomized to exercise or no-exercise groups for 4 months.
Disclosures: The lead author reported receiving a grant from the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. No other conflicts of interest were reported.
A 4-month exercise program of moderate intensity improved the inflammatory milieu, including markers of atherosclerosis, in overweight, sedentary diabetic patients.
The exercise did not alter body weight or insulin resistance, but it significantly improved glycemic, lipid, and cardiorespiratory factors, reported Dr. Nikolaos P.E. Kadoglou of Hippokratio General Hospital of Thessaloniki (Greece) and his associates (Diabetes Metab. 2010 Feb. 9 [doi:10.1016/j.diabet.2009.11.004]).
They compared outcomes in 50 sedentary, overweight, white patients with type 2 diabetes who were aged 50–65 years and whose glycemic control had failed to improve after they had followed a diet and taken oral antidiabetic drugs for at least 4 months.
The participants were randomly assigned to an exercise program or a control group. Subjects were instructed to perform 30–60 minutes of brisk walking at least 4 days per week, with no more than 2 consecutive days of inactivity. They also were encouraged to increase daily activities by taking walking breaks during the work day, gardening, and doing household work. They were asked to meet with a personal trainer once a week for a 1-hour supervised session of aerobic activity.
A total of 87% of the patients in the exercise group said they achieved their target of 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise.
After 4 months, the exercise group had significantly increased exercise capacity, reduced hemoglobin A1c levels, decreased BP, and lower levels of total and LDL cholesterol, whereas the control group did not. But there was no improvement in either group in body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, insulin resistance, and MMP-2 and TIMP-1 levels, Dr. Kadoglou and colleagues wrote.